It’s Tax Day! Which means that if you haven’t filed your taxes, you need to file your extension. Once you do that, come on back and we can talk San Francisco real estate for hours and hours.

Q1 Residential Sales in San Francisco

As you can see from the chart above, the first quarter of the year was a very strong quarter for residential real estate in San Francisco. Sales held steady, down just slightly from last years sales in the same three month period. So inventory remains unchanged but demand is up, which is why being a seller in the current market is so much fun and being a buyer is, well, not so much fun.

Year over year, the list price is up by about 18%, and in Q1 of 2012 homes – on average – sold for asking. This year, homes have been going an average of about 4% over asking.

Days on Market (DOM) is down substantially, decreasing 38% quarter over quarter. And as I mentioned, supply remains roughly the same as in 2012 so the decrease in DOM is not a result of fewer homes being for sale, but a result of A LOT more buyers being in the market. Yes, everyone wants to take advantage of low interest rates, but the bigger story (in my experience) is that buyer confidence in the economy and housing market has improved substantially.

What trends have you noticed in the first three months of the year in San Francisco real estate?

Disclaimer: All data is from the San Franicsco Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Data is believed to be reliable but is not warranted or guaranteed. The data does not include all off-MLS sales, which would include sales of new construction directly from the developer (unless it was listed in the MLS, which is rarely the case). Your mileage may vary. If you’ve got a specific question about our data or methodology, don’t hesitate to leave a comment or get in touch.

If you own a home in the north-central part of San Francisco, what kind of year was 2010? Before I go on,Â district 6 in San Francisco is made up of the following neighborhoods: North Panhandle, Alamo Square, Anza Vista, Hayes Valley, Lower Pacific Heights and Western Addition. These neighborhoods are each fairly distinct from each other in terms of housing stock, so what happens in one of these subdistricts isn’t very indicative of any other. If you are having trouble reading the charts, click on any of them for a larger image.

In comparing values in 2010 to 2009, only 1 D6 neighborhood saw a decrease in median home price, and surprisingly enough that was Hayes Valley. Â All of the other neighborhoods were up, with Anza Vista turning in the strongest performance with a 19% increase in median sale price year over year.

The least expensive D6 neighborhood was Western Addition, with a median price of $549,000, while the currently buzzworthy North Panhandle came in as the most expensive with a median price of $842,000 (contrary to a 7×7 report…). If we try and attempt to adjust for difference in average size by neighborhood and look at price per square foot (which has other issues, as I’ve discussed), then we see Hayes Valley as the most expensive at $728 per square foot and Alamo Square as the least expensive at $418 per square foot. Before you flip out, it should also be noted that Alamo Square had the largest median home size, at 1,950 square feet, almost double the smallest of 1,030 in Hayes Valley. As square footage goes up, price per square foot tends to decrease, hence the low price per square foot in Alamo Square.

What trends stand out to you?

District 6Median Home Prices, District 6Price per Square Foot, District 6% Changes in Median Home price and Price Per Square Foot

As always, all data is from the San FranciscoÂ MultipleÂ Listing Service (SFARMLS). These are my feelings aboutÂ $/Sq.Ft. metricsÂ and theÂ median average.

If you own a home in the central part of San Francisco, what kind of year was 2010? Before I go on,Â district 5 in San Francisco is made up of the following neighborhoods: Clarendon Heights, Buena Vista/Ashbury Heights, Cole Valley/Parnassus Heights, Noe Valley, Eureka Valley/Dolores Heights, Glen Park, Duboce Triangle, Corona Heights, Haight Ashbury, Mission Dolores, and Twin Peaks. These neighborhoods all have a mix of property types (except Clarendon Heights, which is almost all detached single family homes), including single family homes, condos in larger and smaller complexes, and TICs in a variety of building sizes. If you are having trouble reading the charts, click on any of them for a larger image.

In comparing values in 2010 to 2009, only two D5 neighborhoods saw a decrease in median home price, with the rest either being flat or much higher. Both Clarendon Heights and Corona Heights turned in negative performances on median home price, although Corona Heights was up on a price per square foot basis.

The least expensive D5 neighborhood was Twin Peaks, with a median price of $622,000, while its neighbor Clarendon Heights came in as the most expensive with a median price of $1,556,250. If we try and attempt to adjust for difference in average size by neighborhood and look at price per square foot (which has other issues, as I’ve discussed), then we see Buena Vista/Ashbury Heights as the most expensive at $1,165 per square foot and the Haight Ashbury as the least expensive at $559 per square foot.

What trends stand out to you?

District 5Median Home PricePrice per Square Foot% Change, Price per Square Foot and Median Home Price, District 5

As always, all data is from the San FranciscoÂ MultipleÂ Listing Service (SFARMLS). These are my feelings aboutÂ $/Sq.Ft. metricsÂ and theÂ median average.

If you own a home in the central-west part of San Francisco, what kind of year was 2010? Before I go on,Â district 4 in San Francisco is made up of the following neighborhoods: St. Francis Wood,Â Monterey Heights,Â Forest Hill,Â Balboa Terrace,Â West Portal,Â Ingleside Terrace,Â Mt. Davidson Manor,Â Forest Hill Extension,Â Sherwood Forest,Â Westwood Highlands,Â Westwood Park,Â Forest Knolls,Â Midtown Terrace,Â Miraloma Park,Â Sunnyside,Â Diamond Heights. With the exception of Diamond Heights which has a large stock of condominiums, Â all of these neighborhoods consist primarily of single family homes although the style and average size varies substantially from one ‘hood to the next. If you are having trouble reading the charts, click on any of them for a larger image.

In comparing values in 2010 to 2009, 7 D4 neighborhoods saw an increase in median home price, while 9 saw a decrease. Destination D4 ‘hoods like St. Francis Wood, Forest Hill, and West Portal all turned in solid performances while Ingleside Terrace and Sherwood Forest brought up the rear of the list.

The least expensive D4 neighborhood was Diamond Heights, with a median price of $520,000 which makes sense given that DH is the only neighborhood with a large mix of condominiums. St. Francis Wood came in as the most expensive with a median price of $1,909,000. If we try and attempt to adjust for difference in average size by neighborhood and look at price per square foot (which has other issues, as I’ve discussed), then we see the exact same results, with St. Francis Wood being the most expensive and Diamond Heights being the least expensive on a price per square foot basis.

What trends stand out to you?

District 4 Price DataMedian Home PricePrice per Square FootCorrelation between Price per Square Foot and Median Home Price Changes

All data is from the San FranciscoÂ MultipleÂ Listing Service (SFARMLS). These are my feelings aboutÂ $/Sq.Ft. metricsÂ and theÂ median average.

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